This Time in Our Lives
by Mockingjay272
Summary: Requested one-shots of differnt character's different POV with certain scenes.  Requests are always open.
1. The Effect She Has

**A/N: So I want to thank laughingismyhobbie for giving me my first request! Also for all the beautiful reviews that always make me smile! I hope you enjoy this! Peeta's POV for when he tells Katniss the effect she can have on people. Requests are always open.**

**I wake up to the sound of someone stumbling down the hallways. Probably Haymitch. I don't think I've been alive to see him completely sober. I roll out of the bed and head to the shower, just turning on some water to rinse myself off. No point in messing around with the thousands of buttons on here until it ever becomes necessary. **

**I head back into my room and I find that a burgundy colored shirt and black pants have been laid out on my bed. I pull them on as quickly as I can, and head to the dining room, where Haymitch and Katniss sit at the table. I have to admit my heart skips a little in my chest when I see Katniss, and I can't help but think of how amazing and beautiful she looked last night during the opening ceremonies. **

**I tell them good morning, and start with my breakfast. The rich food is still taking a little while to get used to, since we never had anything but stale bread back home. I eat slowly, trying not to think of the training that we'll have to do later today. I still can't quite grasp the concept that I'm in the Hunger Games, fighting against the girl I love.**

**After a while, Haymitch clears his throat, and by the way he looks at Katniss and me, I know that he's going to talk strategy. I brace myself for the worst. **

"**So, let's get down to business," he says, after a drink of alcohol. "Training. First off, if you like, I'll coach you separately. Decide now."**

"**Why would you need to coach us separately?" Katniss asks, and my stomach squirms a little at the sound of her voice. **

"**Say if you had a secret skill you might not want the other to know about," Haymitch says. **

**Katniss looks at me briefly. "I don't have any secret skills. And I already know what yours is, right? I mean, I've eaten enough of your squirrels," I say, not wanting to spend any minute of my last days away from her. **

**Katniss nods. "You can coach us together." **

"**Al right, so give me some ideas of what you can do," Haymitch says gruffly. Oh, man. I've been dreading having this conversation with someone. Better to be honest about my 'skills', I guess.**

"**I can't do anything. Unless you count baking bread."**

**As I expected, Haymitch tells me he doesn't. He turns to Katniss with a little interest in his eyes. She shows promise, at least. "Katniss, I already know you're handy with a knife."**

**Katniss looks slightly embarrassed, and her cheeks show the faintest sign of blush. "Not really. But I can hunt. With a bow and arrow," I hear her say with some pride.**

"**Are you good?" asks Haymitch. I fully expect Katniss to tell him she is. This isn't the time to be modest about what you can do.**

"**I'm alright," she says. I can't believe this. She shouldn't doubt herself so much. She's going to hate me for it, but I decide to speak up for her. Let Haymitch know she has a chance.**

"**She's excellent. My father buys her squirrels. He always comments on how the arrow never pierces the body. She hits everyone in the eye. It's the same with the rabbits she sells to the butcher. She can even bring down deer," I think I hear a note of pride in my own voice, though I'm not sure why. **

**She leans towards me suspiciously. "Why are you talking me up?" **_**Because I want you to have a chance in that arena because I couldn't bear if you died. I've loved you since I was five. **_**Yeah, that conversation could turn out well.**

"**What are you doing? If he's going to help you, he has to know what you're capable of. Don't underrate yourself." That's better. It won't have her thinking I'm in love with her anyway. **

"**What about you," she says, and for a moment I almost laugh. "I've seen you in the market. You can lift hundred-pound bags of flour. Tell him that. That's not nothing," she snaps.**

**OK, how do I respond? Let's go with humor. That way I won't be as likely to mess up and tell her what she is to me. "Yes, and I'm sure the arena will be full of bags of flour for me to chuck at people. It's not like being able to use a weapon. You know it isn't." That was good and safe. I nod to myself inside. Katniss turns back to Haymitch.**

"**He can wrestle. He came in second in our school competition last year, only after his brother. **

**Like that will help. "What use is that? How many times have you seen someone wrestle someone to death?" Dang, this girl can be really infuriating.**

"**There's always hand-to-hand combat. All you need to do is come up with a knife, and you'll at least stand a chance. If I get jumped, I'm dead!" she screams at me. **

"**But you won't! You'll be living up in some tree eating raw squirrels and picking off people with arrows. You know what my mother said to me when she came to say good-bye, as if to cheer me up, she says maybe District 12 will finally have a winner. Then I realized, she didn't mean me, she meant you!" I yell back at her, trying to keep the pain out of my voice. How did Katniss even bring all of that emotion out of me? She has this effect on people…**

"**Oh, she meant you," Katniss says, and I find myself having to tell her the truth.**

"**She said, 'She's a survivor, that one.' **_**She **_**is," I tell her, not able to keep some of the pain out of my voice this time. I can tell Katniss notices. Her voice becomes noticeably softer, but she says something that totally catches me off guard.**

"**Only because someone helped me," she tells me with a meaningful look. Because I gave her bread when we were kids? What, did she really expect me to just sit there and watch her starve? **

"**People will help you in the arena. They'll be tripping over each other to sponsor you," I tell her. She must know this. She must know the effect she has on people. She can make people fall in love with her with just once glance. Aren't I living proof of that?**

"**No more than you," she says and I sigh. How can she not know?**

"**She has no idea. The effect she can have," I say to myself, running a hand through my hair. I suddenly become aware that I said that out loud. Oh well. She'll have to find out sometime. No one can be so oblivious to the way they make people feel. She glares at me, until Haymitch breaks the uncomfortable silence. **

"**Well, then. Well, well, well. Katniss, there's no guarantee that there'll be bows and arrows in the arena, but during your private session with the Gamemakers, show them what you can do. Until then, stay clear of archery. Are you any good at trapping?" I hear her mutter something about knowing a few types of snares.**

"**That may be significant in terms of food," Haymitch tells her. He turns to me. "And Peeta, she's right, never underestimate strength in the arena. Very often, physical power tilts the advantage of a player. In the Training Center, they will have weights, but don't reveal how much you can lift in front of the other tributes. The plan's the same for both of you. You go to group training. Spend some time trying to learn something you don't know. Throw a spear. Swing a mace. Learn to tie a decent knot. Save showing what you're best at until your private sessions. Are we clear?" I nod assent. I can live with that plan.**

"**One last thing. In public, I want you by each other's side every minute," Haymitch adds. Katniss starts screaming at him, but he growls right back at her and slams his hand on the table. "Every minute! It's not open for discussion! You agreed to do as I said! You will be together, you will appear amiable to each other. Now get out. Meet Effie at the elevator at ten for training." With that, Haymitch stands up and goes back to his room, slamming the door.**

**Katniss and I get up too, and for the first time I notice that we are dressed exactly alike. I don't really mind, but this whole friendship thing is really starting to bother Katniss. She stomps back to her room, slamming the door like Haymitch. I shake my head. Whether she tries to or not, Katniss is going to dazzle everyone. She just has that effect.**

**A/N: I hope that's what you wanted laughingismyhobbie! I tried hard for you! If anyone else wants me to write a one-shot, tell me in a review or e-mail me what character you want and what scene, and I'll write it for you!**

**~MJ272**


	2. Her Face

**A/N: Requested by SneverusSnapers. The scene where Prim dies, told in her POV. Enjoy!**

**I am crouching in front of President Snow's mansion. The war will end today. President Coin told us that a few children needed to go to the Capitol. That was all I knew. I asked to go right away.**

**The mission was simple. When the children are allowed in Snow's mansion for a place to live, we are to group together, find Snow, and assassinate him. It would be so easy, if Katniss hadn't told me what killing a person does to you. **

**Katniss. She is the reason I am here. President Coin said that she didn't know which people of the Star Squad are alive. My sister could be dead. That's why I had to go. Coin had let me without a fight. At first, I was surprised. Then she had taken me aside and told me why she really needed me to come.**

"**I hope your sister's dead," she says flat out. "If she is, it will add fuel to the rebellion. And if her little sister kills Snow, you would become the new Mockingjay. Primrose, we need faces for this rebellion. We needed Katniss' face, and now we need yours. And you would hold a position of authority, and you will vouch for me to be the next President of Panem. So I'll see you tomorrow at 8:00, down in the Hangar for your departure."**

**She had left me standing there. Because if I didn't go, my mother might be in danger. And I had to fight for Katniss. But there will be no way this woman will ever be President. She's just as bad as Snow. Why do all these Presidents use me? Snow used me for bait against Katniss. And now Coin's using me for her rebellion. **

**But Coin was wrong about me. I don't care about the rebellion at this point. I care about Katniss. And whoever else may have been lost in the Capitol. Like Peeta and Gale and Finnick…**

**I am lost in my thoughts when a Capitol hovercraft flies overhead and drops silver parachutes. Many of the kids with me seem to think that it's some sort of present, so they rush over to the nearest one. I stay behind, not trusting anything coming from the Capitol.**

**One girl comes over and sits next to me. I can't remember her name. "Oh, Octania, come look! There's food!" This girl is no older than me, yet she already has those traits from the Capitol the adults have. Weird accents, oblivious to everything, she even has had some alteration. Her hair is a bright shade of magenta and each of her ears are pierced three times. That must hurt so much. **

**I shake my head at her, so she shrugs and rushes back over to the parachute. She is just reaching it when it explodes.**

**I am a healer. There was no reason I should have approached that parachute. But I am a healer. I had to check to see if any of those people were still alive. I might be able to save them. **

**I rush over, and my shirt comes tucked out in the back. I hardly notice. When I reach the site, I see that the girl who talked to me is struggling to breathe. I look up, hoping for reinforcements.**

**And I see her. She stands in the edge of my vision. Forgetting the girl barely holding on for her life on the ground, I look at her full-on. She is alive. There are tears in her eyes and she is beat up and bruised, but she is alive.**

"**Katniss…" I start to say, but I don't get to finish my sentence. There is a deafening explosion directly behind me, and the last thing I see is the red-orange tongues of fire licking my body…**

_**M y name is Primrose Everdeen. I am thirteen years old. I died in the Capitol today.**_

**A/N: I hope you like it! Aww, I love Prim, and this makes me sad :'(. Requests are open.**


	3. Goodbye

**A/N: Woah, you guys are so awesome! I got five requests in the last 8 hours! I love you guys so much! This is for SneverusSnapers. Foxface's (Catriona) POV of her death.**

**I stand in the arena. Ever since the Career's supplies blew up, I've had to get food in other ways. I was on the brink of starvation, but the Capitol gave me a supply of food in the pack during the feast. I smiled to myself at the memory. Stupid people. How could they not have realized I was in the Cornucopia?**

**But now I had to start stealing food again. My Capitol food wasn't going to last forever. Trudging through the forest, I find footsteps and broken branches. I smile. Following the footsteps quickly, I start to hear the voices of the lovers from District 12. They were never going to make it with the girl's injury. Still, they sounded like they were doing all right with food.**

**I'm correct. When I reach their supplies, I'm rewarded with cheese and berries. I see the boy down my some bushes, gathering more berries. He surely won't notice a few missing. I don't know where the girl is, so I take off into the forest the way that I came, hoping I won't run into her. **

**My hunger takes over about 100 yards away. I eat the cheese first, savoring the sweetness on my tongue. I reach for the berries next, greedily bringing them closer to my mouth. Then I notice something about them.**

**Being from District 5, scientific research, we know our poisons. In fact, we often find the antidote to poisons. But if this is what I think it is, I will be dead. **

**Nightlock. I could be holding nightlock in my hand. They could just be regular berries. I can't tell the difference. I didn't think to do the edible plants test back in training, but now I wish I did. These berries will make the difference between life or death for me. **

**But what does it matter if I die? Surely I wouldn't be happy if I lived. Already, dreams of children I have seen die have haunted me. I couldn't live with that kind of guilt. But I am living for someone. I am living for Tereska. **

**She told me to make it home alive. With our mother dead and our father turned to morphling, she is the only thing that gets me through the days. She is 18 now, and she will never have to go through the hell of the arena. My sister is waiting for me to come home. **

**Yet my sister would be the one telling me to try the berries. She always pushed me to see how far I could go, how far I could get when toying around, tempting Death. For Tereska, I have to try these berries. But first, I have to say something to her, in case this is nightlock. **

"**Tereska. I hope I have made you proud, and I am honored to be your sister. I have fought to get home to you. Know that I have. If this is not nightlock, then I hope I will see you again. But if it is, know that I loved you. I'll always be your little Foxface."**

**Knowing that Tereska knows how much she meant to me, I tilt my hand and let the berries fall into my mouth. The last thing I hear is the cry of the girl from District 12, ecstatic as she finds her lover again.**

**A/N: I am so sorry I haven't gotten this up until know, but over the week my cousin got mauled by a dog and had to have 27 stitches in his face, my other cousin got surgery in her foot, and my best friend had to go and test for epilepsy and insomnia. Booksandmusic97, I haven't forgotten you, and I promise your requests will be up in the near future. Thanks for bearing with me!**

**~MJ272**

**Oh, if you read Things Can Be Good Again, you will find some more explanations on Tereska and why Catriona calls herself Foxface. **


	4. Failure

**A/N: So this is the first of booksandmusic97's requests. I'm doing things slightly out of order as she requested them, but I don't have a copy of Mockingjay right now. I'm getting it tonight though! Here's Haymitch's POV when Chaff dies in the arena.**

**I grumble to myself. That idiot girl has let Peeta out of her sight. That's just going to make getting them both out a hell of a lot harder. Grabbing my third bottle of alcohol today, I pop the cork off and take a swig. I'm headed to District 13, where they don't have any freaking alcohol. Might as well savor this.**

**Watching the multiple TV's in the control room, I prepare to leave quickly and go to the hovercraft, where Plutarch Heavensbee will be waiting. Taking one last look at the screen to make sure Katniss and Peeta aren't in any immediate danger, I sneak out of the room. **

**None of the other mentors stop me. They've become so supportive of each other lately, but that's good news for me now. No one cares as I leave the building. **

**Trying not to catch the notice of the camera stationed around the building, I pretend like I'm outside for fresh air to nurse a hangover. I sit on the ground, groaning slightly, for about 15 minutes. Then out of nowhere, a hovercraft descends silently to where I'm sitting. Moving pretty fast for a middle aged drunk, I grab hold of the ladder and it drags me up into the hovercraft. **

**Plutarch Heavensbee sits at the controls. His fingers are drumming uselessly on the board. I roll my eyes and sit by a TV, seeing that no harm has come to Katniss or Peeta in my absence. They look fine, although Katniss looks a little uncomfortable with no one but Johanna Mason to keep her company. Girl should've taken Peeta with her. Shaking my head, I take another swig of alcohol. **

**In hours the hovercraft is on top of the arena. I just able to make out Katniss and Peeta. Finnick is with Beetee and Peeta. He'll keep them safe. **

**Katniss and Johanna have almost rigged the wire when it is cut by Enobaria. I bite back a curse. Johanna however, is smart and knows exactly what to do next. Hitting Katniss in the temple, Johanna effectively cuts the tracker out of Katniss' arm, then leaves to ward off Brutus and Enobaria. **

**Then as usual, Katniss messes everything up. She gets up and goes to look for something, probably Peeta. She pauses for a minute to wrap something around her arm, then goes on.**

_**Get back down! **_**I want to yell at her. Brutus and Enobaria are still out there, and the less she's moves the easier time we'll have picking her up. **

**Finnick, meanwhile, has realized that something has gone wrong. He gets up and starts running, which only sends Peeta and Beetee into disarray. Finnick passes Katniss, but she hides. He's calling out her name. The girl stays hidden until Finnick is out of her sight. What the hell is she doing? Didn't I make it clear that Finnick could be trusted? **

**I try to focus my eyes on my other tribute so Katniss doesn't make me too mad. Peeta is near Chaff. And Brutus is coming up behind Chaff, who doesn't see. **

"**RUN!" I scream, even though I know Chaff can't hear me. Brutus takes out a knife, and Chaff turns just in time to see the knife go right into his heart. **

**Chaff is dead. Plutarch shakes me, which reminds me that our job is not finished. Peeta starts to follow Brutus, and then I notice Katniss, who has gotten herself into a whole mess of trouble again. She is lying tangled up in the wire that managed to catch itself to the lightning tree. She gets out of it after a few minutes and notices Beetee. He's been hurt somehow, but I've been too preoccupied watching Katniss and Peeta to figure out how. Peeta is yelling something, and I think his lips form Katniss' name. She responds however, probably alerting Brutus to her location. **

"**Get down there," I yell to Plutarch. Carefully, he inches down, trying not to bring attention to the hovercraft. I focus my attention back to the arena, and Finnick and Enobaria come crashing down by the lightning tree, not noticing Katniss or Beetee. Peeta is stalking Brutus again, and he does something that blows even my mind away.**

**Peeta creeps up on Brutus with a knife in his hand, like how Brutus snuck up on Chaff. And just like Chaff's death, Brutus turns his head just as the knife is buried in his heart. The cannon booms, we can hear it even from up here. **

**Peeta yells something again, but Katniss doesn't respond this time. She is trained on Enobaria's neck, but she doesn't let the arrow fly. Instead, she takes Beetee's knife and ties it to one of her bows with the wire that was around the hilt. She shoots at one of the chinks in the force field, just as lightning strikes the tree. There is wire around that tree, and with all the electricity building up and the electrified arrow hitting the force field, it collapses. **

**No one moves. Plutarch, not caring about subtlety for once, hurls the hovercraft down into the arena, coming over Katniss' body. It picks her up. I exhale. One down, four to go. We come up on Beetee next, and by that time, a Capitol hovercraft is rushing in, and I know they're also looking for tributes. **

"**Dammit, Plutarch, hurry up! We've got company!" I shout. Beetee is up, and he homes in on Finnick just as the Capitol homes in on Enobaria. I don't care about her. Then they go off, and I see them lift Johanna Mason, just as Finnick is up. Now it's just about who gets to Peeta first.**

"**Go, go!" I yell, and Plutarch dives the hovercraft top speed. But we're too late. The Capitol hovercraft gets there before we do, and I just see Peeta get lifted up before Plutarch starts flying toward District 13 as fast as this thing can go.**

**We failed them. I failed Katniss, I failed Johanna, and I failed Chaff, just like I failed Maysilee all those years ago. I didn't rescue Peeta, and Katniss won't do anything without him. I let Johanna be taken, I let Chaff be killed. **

**Going into a private room, I take all the alcohol that is left on this thing, and drink. I drink away my pain like I've been doing for 25 years, not wanting to face all the people I have failed. **

**A/N: This started out rocky, but I love how I ended it. Once I get Mockingjay tonight, I'll get the rest of your reviews in, booksandmusic97. isfpkitten, I haven't forgotten you, and your request will be up shortly. Thanks for reading, and requests are open.**


	5. My Heart Will Go On

**A/N: So here's another one for booksandmusic97. This part made me cry in the book, so it might make me cry here too. RIP Finnick.**

**We run from the mutts, all nine of us. Running, running, running, away from death. **

**Kill Snow. That's what we must do. Kill Snow. For everyone who's died, and for everyone to be safe. Kill Snow. Kill him for Annie and my child. My child…**

**We found out the day before I went to the Capitol. Annie told me she had been feeling funny, and I noticed she had been eating and sleeping more. I recognized the signs. They were the same ones my mother had when she was pregnant with my younger brother, Krill. Krill, who the Capitol killed when he was just six years old. **

**The people in Thirteen promised to take care of my Annie while we she was in the hospital. Fertility is rare back there. She will be well cared for. But how can I go back if I fail, knowing that my child will be one of the next target on Snow's list?**

**So I run. I run because I can't fail. We stop for a moment, and on Katniss' orders I give one of my two guns to one of the cameramen, Castor. We arm the other members of her crew, and then we run some more. **

**I don't mind running. I'm fast. I have to be, counting all those times when I left the Capitol after each year of being a mentor, and almost worse, having my body sold countless times. Running straight to the water, where I feel most at home. Where Annie would always find me. **

**But with our quickness comes certain sloppiness. A boot crashing into a puddle. A gun clanging on a pipe. **

**Then the screams being. The demented, deformed screams of people who don't quite have the ability. **

"**Avoxes," Peeta says. "That's what Darius sounded like when they tortured him."**

"**The mutts must have found them," Cressida says in a hushed voice.**

"**So they're not just after Katniss," Leeg 1 says, as if we're all too stupid to get it.**

"**They'll probably kill anyone. It's just that they won't stop until they get to her," Katniss' friend, Gale, says. I really don't like Gale. He doesn't seem to care too much about human life, and I don't think he'll be able to take it when Katniss admits she loves Peeta. She might not know it yet, but she does love him. I can see it in her eyes. I hope they have a long and happy life together. If anyone deserves it, it's them. **

"**Let me go on!" Katniss shouts desperately, breaking my thoughts. "Lead them off. I'll transfer the Holo to Jackson. The rest of you can finish off the mission." Does she really think we'd leave her? I don't give a crap about what Coin says, this girl deserves a long and happy life. I'm determined to give it to her.**

"**No one's going to agree to that!" Jackson says, voicing my thoughts. Katniss looks like she's going to argue, so I butt in.**

"**We're wasting time!" I yell at her. **

"**Listen," Peeta says, and like always, everyone is compelled to listen to him. The mutts voices are closer now, always whispering the same word. "**_**Katniss."**_

**Katniss finally gives in and begins to run again. I follow her with no hesitation. I hear the others behind me, and we've gotten far enough to think we might be able to finish the job today when the smell of roses hits the air and Katniss starts gagging.**

"**Masks on!" Jackson orders, but there's no toxic fumes in the air. Just the reminder of Snow. I'm almost tempted to throw up my breakfast as well. Katniss stumbles away from the smell, and we come into the Transfer.**

**Katniss quickly blows up the first pod and deactivates it. We all watch carefully where we step, not wanting to set off a pod known as the "Meat Grinder." But when I look up and see Messalla, I see that there are much worse dangers than the Meat Grinder. **

**I pull Katniss back so she doesn't suffer the fate that we all watch happening to Messalla. He is in the middle of the golden light, face held open grotesquely. His flesh starts to melt off, and we are unable to take our eyes away. I feel a rough hand in the middle of my shoulders, urging me to go on.**

"**Can't help him!" Peeta yells as he shoves more people. "Can't!" How does that kid get us all moving again? He was hijacked by Snow, and tried to kill Katniss, but he made mine and Annie's wedding cake. He had a direct line to the mutts that Snow is setting on us, but he is the only one who is willing us to go forward, away from danger. **

**As we skidder around the next block, a squad of Peacekeepers comes at us. We fire as much as we can, and I use my trident as well as my gun. They're almost dead when we see the mutts for the first time. **

**They are as large as a human, but they tails that remind me strongly of crocodiles, and heads that resemble large, bloodthirsty wolves. They kill the rest of the Peacekeepers before making their way towards us. And so we run again. **

**Katniss fires, and the Meat Grinder opens. I understand why she activated it. The mutts have obviously been designed so that it will be very difficult for a human to kill them. Maybe the Meat Grinder's huge, slashing teeth could do the job.**

**Katniss runs on, and I feel a tap at my shoulder. It's Jackson, with Leeg 1.**

"**We're staying," she says quietly. "Kill that wretch of a man known as Snow. Make it back to your wife. Live long and happy." And with that, she and Leeg1 start firing at the mutts, trying to take down as many as they can.**

**I quickly catch up with the others. There will be time to mourn the deaths later. But Jackson's opened my eyes to what I need. To get out of here alive, I need to focus on the things that mean the most to me. Annie and my child. **

**Katniss has decided to get the hell out of the underground. We hurry quickly to the nearest ladder. We're almost there when she realizes the absence of two of our members. **

"**Wait! Where are Jackson and Leeg 1?" she asks, her eyes looking around desperately. **

"**They stayed behind at the Meat Grinder," Homes says as gently as he can. Katniss screams and lunges forward, but Homes keeps her back. "Don't waste their lives, Katniss! It's too late for them. Look!" he shouts, alerting us to the mutts, who are once again advancing on us. Gale blows up the ground before the mutts, but that even that can't keep them away. We fire as we please, just trying to lodge our weapons into the things. Pollux climbs up the ladder, and then hoists Katniss up. Cressida and Peeta follow her. Gale shoots one more arrow, then follows. I turn my back for a moment, running for the ladder, when a mutt catches my leg.**

**Sheer agony. The only other time I felt this much pain was watching Annie in the arena. I give a horrible cry, and Katniss face looks down from up above, longing to help. Gale holds her back, and says something to her as two more mutts descend upon me. She ignores him and looks down. A mutt yanks back my head, and I stare into Katniss eyes, with one thing on my mind. **

_**Save Annie, **_**I think frantically, until all I see is her. Annie, the woman I love, the woman who is carrying my child. The woman that I'll never get back to. I relive in the memories of her one last time before the mutts rip my face off.**

**I watch from up above. Annie is laying on a bed, in Katniss' home in District 12. Katniss and Peeta have lived, and now they are together, giving each other happiness. They, Johanna Mason, and I woman I never met crowd around Annie, as she gives birth to my son. My son, whom I'll never get to meet…**

**But I see my Annie look at her child with adoring eyes. She'll never let this child be on its own. I can see that. She will love and care for it, and that's all I ever wanted from her. **

**And as she holds our son to her heart, I know that my own heart will go on, because I've done my job. Annie and my child are safe.**

**A/N: Imma go cry in a corner now. Just thought I'd let you know.**


	6. He Will Pay

**A/N: Ok, here's the third request from booksandmusic97. I know have an AWESOME Beta for the sequel to Things Can Be Good Again, HopeNeverDies, you should check her out! These one-shots are un-Beta'd, so any mistakes are my fault. Haymitch's POV. Haha, enjoy!**

I really need a bottle right now. Alcohol is forbidden in District 13, but can't they cut me a little slack? I've been drinking for 25 years. It's my way of solving things, dealing with situations. Damn that Coin…

Peeta's coming back today. I won't ever admit I thought this, but that kid means a lot to me. Both of them do. I almost killed myself when I didn't get him out of that arena.

I wonder what they did to him. After he told us about the bombing, I doubt Snow let him get by without some form of torture. Hopefully, we'll get him back alive. I can't bear the thought that they won't. As for Katniss, well, let's just hope Coin can find herself a new Mockingjay. Katniss and Peeta are tied together, whether she wants to admit it or not.

Peeta. His life is now the outcome of the rebellion. If he lives, Katniss will perform, rally the rebels, and give us a shot of winning. If he dies, Katniss will shut down and lose the will to live.

She's with Finnick right now. I can't bear to even speak to Finnick. He's so broken without that girl, Annie, that he's not himself. That's why we're getting her back. So Finnick will be able to fight. And Johanna, who must have paid dearly for all she knew about the rebellion. I doubt she has been allowed to live this long.

As I'm sitting in my room, trying not to think, wishing for my bottle, someone I don't know walks into my quarters.

"They're back. We need you and Katniss Everdeen and Finnick Odair in the hospital," is all he has to say.

I'm out of the chair and almost running to Special Defense, where Katniss and Finnick wait for their loved ones to return. Yes, Katniss, you love Peeta. Admit already, and then maybe you won't have so many people badgering you about it.

Beetee tells me where they are, and I burst into the room to find Finnick huddled on the floor and Katniss toying with a piece of rope, both looking hollow, both looking up at the same moment, as though expecting more bad news.

"They're back. We're wanted in the hospital," I tell them. Katniss starts to open her mouth. "That's all I know," I say quickly, before she bombards me with questions. Finnick gets up with a dazed look, as though he can't believe this is happening. Katniss takes his hand.

We all go to the hospital, and the first person we see in Johanna. Or, what used to be Johanna. Her body is cut up in many places, oozing puss in others, and there are a few kind bruises. Her head has been shaved carelessly. A doctor tending to her informs us that she is alive and will survive.

One person we have seen. She is barely alive, and I almost don't want to go and see the others. Then again, Johanna knew more than they did. She knew what she was getting herself into. I'll talk to her when I have the chance.

Next, we come across Katniss' friend, Gale. Him, I don't care about at all, but Katniss calls his name and starts towards him, but a nurse shoos her out. I roll my eyes and push her forward.

"Finnick!" a young woman cries. Annie Cresta, her long dark hair flying out behind her, her sea green eyes wild with anticipation, comes flying at Finnick. She shrieks his name again, and I see a change in Finnick. His eyes light up again, and he doesn't look as fragile. As he takes Annie in his arms, I see the Finnick that I once knew. They have saved those two, at least.

Boggs comes up to me and Katniss, looking battle-worn, but has no major injuries. "We got them all out. Except Enobaria. But since she's from Two, we doubt she's being held anyway. Peeta's at the end of the hall. The effects of the gas are just wearing off. You should be there when he wakes."

I see a change in Katniss too. Her eyes get brighter, and she looks like she's anticipating her reunion with Peeta. They got him out alive. I screwed up by not getting them out of the arena, but the people of the rebellion got them out of the hell that he was in. Katniss and I are forever in their debt.

I grin at Katniss, almost as eager as she is to see Peeta again. To tell him how sorry I am.

"Come on, then," I tell her, and we quickly hurry to the end of the hall.

Peeta's already awake, and he looks confused as doctors tend to him. He sees Katniss, and a look comes into his eyes that I've never seen before. Something's wrong with him. I don't know what, but the Capitol did something to that boy.

Katniss doesn't even notice. She holds out her arms as Peeta walks towards her. He reaches for her, and then lunges himself at her, his hands going around her throat.

I'm too shocked, too numb, to do anything. Peeta, trying to kill Katniss? Peeta, violent, without reason? No, this isn't Peeta. This can't be Peeta.

Boggs hits the boy on the head, and his fingers leave Katniss throat. She stands there for a second more, looking like she's about to cry, before she blacks out. Boggs carries out of the room, but I stay, still too surprised to move. I stare at the boy who the doctors are hoisting up onto the medical bed.

Snow has messed with Peeta's mind. Peeta, one of the only two people I actually cared about. Snow's gone too far this time.

Katniss won't let this one go. She will fight to kill that man, because of what he did to Peeta. I'm burning with a hatred towards Snow, one I haven't felt since he killed Maysilee.

Snow has just died. By doing this to Peeta, Katniss is going to kill him herself. I know Katniss. I know what she will do. If she has to steal a hovercraft to get to the Capitol, she will. That man will pay.

_Good-bye Snow, _I think. _You've gone too far. Prepare to feel the wrath of the Mockingjay. _

And I will relish in the moment he dies, finally paying for all the crimes he has committed.

**A/N: Urgh, I HATE Snow. When I read that part in the book, I was screaming my head off. I hated Snow even more for that one. He got what he deserved. Oh well, I hoped you like it! Requests are open, as always. **


	7. For My Girls

**A/N: So sorry this hasn't gotten up faster, but my right wrist got sprained and I haven't been able to write a whole lot. But on the other hand, I want to thank KelsNicole92 for agreeing to beta the one-shots! She's an AMAZING writer, and if you don't believe me, check out her stories! If you do believe me, check out her stories! OK, this is getting long, here's the one-shot, the last one for booksandmusic97! Haymitch's POV. Brief strong language. **

I have one more meeting to go to. One more meeting until that beast known as Snow will die. One more meeting before this war will really be over.

I have no idea what the hell we're going to be talking about. When I get into the room that Plutarch led me into, Johanna, Enobaria, Beetee, and Annie sit around a table, with three chairs empty. Silently I take one, glaring at Enobaria. She is the only one here that I don't trust.

After a few minutes, Peeta is also led into the room, burn marks all over his forehead. At least they didn't reach his eyes. He too sits down at the table. He, Annie, and Beetee all seem too tired to do much more than sit and look down. Johanna and I are staring down Enobaria, who glares back at the two of us.

Finally, Katniss comes in and stands in the doorway. I finally understand this odd gathering of people. We are all victors. We are all that's left. Katniss' eyes are burning with a million questions, but she only asks one.

"What's this?"

"We're not sure," I answer her, with a look at Beetee, to see if he knows anything. "It appears to be a gathering of the remaining victors." Katniss' eyes widen in shock as she quickly does a head count of who's here.

"We're all that's left?" she asks in a hushed voice, trying to keep the terror out.

"The price of being a celebrity," Beetee says. "We were targeted from both sides. The Capitol killed the victors they suspected of being rebels. The rebels killed those who were thought to be allied with the Capitol."

This causes Johanna to scowl at Enobaria. "So what's she doing here?" Johanna asks in an accusing voice.

"She is protected under what we call the Mockingjay Deal," Coin says as she walks into the room. "Where in Katniss Everdeen agreed to support the rebels in exchange for captured victors' immunity. Katniss has upheld her side of the bargain, and so shall we."

I don't trust that woman. She's better than Snow, but there's something about her I don't like. If only I could pinpoint it, or somehow talk to Beetee with her standing right there. Beetee always seems to know what's going on.

"Sit down, please, Katniss," Coin commands as she closes the door. Katniss takes the last remaining seat, putting some random rose on the table. Where the hell did she get a rose?

"I've asked you all here to settle a debate," Coin begins, getting right to the point. "Today we will execute Snow. In the previous weeks, hundreds of his accomplices in the oppression of Panem have been tried and now await their own deaths. However, the suffering in the districts has been so extreme that these measures appear insufficient to the victims. In fact, many of them are calling for a complete annihilation for those who held Capitol citizenship. However, in the interest of maintaining a sustainable population, we cannot afford this. So, an alternative has been placed on the table. Since my colleagues and I can come to no consensus, it has been agreed that we will let the victors decide. A majority of four will approve the plan. No one may abstain from the vote." What the hell is she getting at?

"What has been proposed is that in lieu of eliminating the entire Capitol population, we have a final, symbolic, Hunger Games, using the children directly related to those who held the most power."

That's what's wrong with her. All seven of us turn to her in disbelief, but Johanna finds her voice the quickest. "What?" she asks.

"We hold another Hunger Games using Capitol children," repeats Coin.

"Are you joking?" Peeta asks her, his eyes wide with hatred at the idea. Coin looks at him as though he's lost his mind. She probably doesn't even know what the word joking means.

"No. I should also tell you that if we do hold the Games, it will be known that it was done with your approval, although the individual votes will be kept a secret for your own security," she says.

A thought crosses my mind. If he thought of this, I'm going to kill that shit hole. "Was this Plutarch's idea?" I ask her.

"It was mine," Coin tells me. "It seemed to balance the need for vengeance with the least loss of life. You may cast your votes."

How could there be another Hunger Games? I've been through them and I don't wish that hell upon anyone, not even Capitol children.

"No!" shouts Peeta. "I vote no, of course. We can't have another Hunger Games!" Good answer, kid.

"Why not?" Johanna asks. "It seems very fair to me. Snow even has a granddaughter. I vote yes." Wait, he has a granddaughter? It almost seems unfair to punish her for what her grandfather did, but Snow would be tortured. I grin to myself at the thought of Snow being tortured like the rest of us.

"So do I," says Enobaria. "Let them have a taste of their own medicine." Yes, this is starting to look very reasonable.

"This is why we rebelled! Remember?" Peeta says, looking at each one of us. Well, he has a point… "Annie?"

"I vote no with Peeta," Annie says in a quiet voice. "So would Finnick if he were here." She's got a point, too. Finnick was very smart, and he knew the horrors of the Hunger Games almost more than the rest of us.

"But he isn't, because Snow's mutts killed him," Johanna reminds us. With that in mind, I feel burning hatred towards Snow again. Let him suffer.

"No," Beetee is the next to vote. "It would set a bad precedent. We have to stop viewing one another as enemies. At this point, unity is essential for our survival. No." Beetee's probably the smartest person I know, and I should probably listen to him. What he said makes sense after all.

"We're down to Katniss and Haymitch," says Coin. If Katniss votes no, it won't matter what I say.

She bites her lip uncertainly and it's a long time before she speaks. "I vote yes… for Prim."

She's doing this out of memory for the sister she lost to the Capitol. I think of who I've lost to them. I lost my girls. One, I lost in the arena. I lost Maysilee. The other, I lost in revenge for my stunt with the force field. I lost Azura, who led an innocent life in District 12. Neither of them should have ever died.

"Haymitch, it's up to you," Coin reminds me. I take a deep breath.

"I'm with the Mockingjay," I say before I can change my mind. I'm with her for my girls, for Maysilee and Azura. But would my girls be with me?

"Excellent. That carries out the vote," Coin says with satisfaction. "Now we really must take out place for the execution."

Katniss picks the rose up off of the table and gives it to Coin. "Can you see that Snow's wearing this?" she asks. "Just over his heart?"

Coin actually smiles. "Of course. And I'll make sure he knows about the Games."

Katniss mutters a thank you. We are marched outside, but all I can think of is whether Maysilee and Azura would have approved of my decision. As Katniss prepares to shoot Snow, I know the answer. I hate myself for succumbing to Coin like that. I wish I could take back my vote, take back what I said. But now it's too late.

There is a change in Katniss' eyes. She looks at Snow, but you can tell she doesn't see him as her real enemy.

Instead, her arrow changes its pathway and lodges itself right into Coin's heart. That girl amazes me. It doesn't matter what we voted. There will be no more Hunger Games.

Thanks to Katniss, my girls are satisfied. And like always, they are extremely upset that I wasn't the one to set things straight. Katniss does that now. I suppose she will become my mentor once we get out of this mess.

Until she goes rabid trying to escape the guards. I do nothing.

And with that, I let all three of my girls down at the same time. Because I can't set things right**. **

**A/N: Whoa, this developed completely as I was writing it. The only idea before I started was the one about him thinking about Maysilee and Azura while he was voting. It surprised me how I decided to play this one out, but I like it! What do you think? R&R!**

**~MJ272**

**Oh, one more thing. I finally got registered as a Beta, and I would LOVE to do it for somebody! Give my profile a look, and see if you want me to do it, because then you would become my most favorite person in the world!**


	8. I Will Stay The Same

**A/N: So, this is for isfpkitten. Haha, yes, I finally got to it. Thanks again to my amazing Beta, KelsNicole92! Haha, for once, this isn't in Haymitch's POV. This is going to be in Rue's. **

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><p>I get out of the small bed that I share with my younger sister on the day of the reaping. It's my first reaping, and I've had to take out 8 tessarae, plus the extra, required name.<p>

My name is in that reaping ball nine times. Most people don't have to worry about that number until they are thirteen, or even fourteen. I am only twelve.

Without waking my sister, I turn and silently turn on our old TV. Up until one o'clock today, they will be posting the names of the people who are to report to the square. The names of the people that could be reaped.

We do things differently here in District 11. We have such a big population, and so many hands are needed at all times in the fields, that our escort draws the names the day before the "reaping". Then, they make a list of a thousand or so children, whose names could have been drawn. The rest of the kids sigh in relief, and head back out to the fields.

My eyes quickly scan the list of the twelve year old girls. I don't see my name, so I think I'm safe. I'm almost to the bottom of the list. Did I escape my first year?

No. Near the bottom, the name "Rue Underbrush" is clearly written.

I shut my eyes for a second and envision going back to sleep, hoping to dream away some of my fears today. I will not be expected out in the fields, and neither will my family. I hope to fall asleep before any of them wake up, so they will not badger me with apologies.

I have no such luck. My sister, the second oldest, is stirring when I turn away from the TV. Her eyes open sleepily to see the horror I haven't managed to conceal in time.

"Oh, Rue," she says, and then she starts sobbing into my chest. It's as if I have already been reaped.

"Don't cry, Jacey, don't cry," I tell her soothingly. "I might not even be reaped. You know that I most likely won't be. This just means a couple hours of useless worrying. You'll see, I'll be fine, and then we'll have a party tonight. What do you say about getting into our groosling?"

Jacey's eyes grow wide at the thought. Groosling was a rare treat that we could barely afford, but we had been able to scrape a little extra money now that Beck has started to work in the fields.

As I comfort Jacey, I look over at the peaceful faces of the rest of my large family. My mother, Ariadne, my father, Bacchus, and my little siblings, Jacey, Kimber, Beck, Linus, and Luce, who was born less than a year ago. Beck starts to stir, his body getting used to the early hours of the morning that we usually have to be up by.

Before anyone else gets up, I lay back down, cradling Jacey in my arms. I tell her to rest, that she might as well enjoy it while she can. I fall asleep just as I hear someone get up, and wail at the sight of my name on the TV screen, which I have foolishly forgotten to turn off…

"Rue? Rue, honey, you have to get up." I feel a gentle tug at my shoulder. I open my eyes to see Mother leaning over my bed, leftover tears staining her beautiful face. I sit up and rub my eyes, and then I am pulled into my mother's arms. I awkwardly hug her back, and just when I thought I have escaped, Father is there to hug me too, and then I am passed down through the hands of my brothers and sisters.

"Really, you're overreacting," I tell them. "I'm going to be fine, and we can celebrate with groosling later on." I see Linus' eyes light up at the prospect of groosling. I feel so good that I can promise him something good to eat later. If only I were so sure about my safety…

Father, who has always been the strongest one in our family, rises up and leads us all out of our hut. We make our way to the town square. We run into some families that we know, and each one is a blow to my stomach. If I don't go in, what if one of my friends has to?

We arrive in the square just in time. I give one of the many Peacekeepers my name, and he checks it off a list. The next thing I know, I am ushered into the 12-year-old girls' section by rough hands.

I stand on my tiptoes and try to see our mentor take the stage. She is a woman named Kelsey Deeon. I don't see much of her, just hear her accented voice as she walks towards the girls reaping ball.

"And our first lucky tribute," she says, and I imagine her digging deep in to the bottom, pulling out a name that isn't mine.

"Rue Underbrush," she says happily.

No. This can't be happening. I can't be leaving my family. They need me. Jacey and Kimber and Beck and Linus and Luce and my parents, they all need me to be strong, and they all need my salary. I have to help keep them alive.

I don't feel my legs taking me up to the stage. I see Kelsey for the first time, but nothing about her appearance registers. The only thing I can hear is the cry of a baby who I know to be Luce.

And then I hear a melody. The melody I give at the end of each day, that signals when the work is done. Someone in the crowd whistles my tune, and almost instantly the mockingjays pick it up, and the whole square is filled with their voices.

I'm not aware of the male tribute until our mayor is telling us to shake hands. It's Thresh.

Oh no, not Thresh. He's so good, and has always hated these games. It's absolute cruelty that he has to participate in them.

But I know Thresh. He won't play by the Capitol's rules, he will play by his own. The Capitol won't turn him into a monster, or someone he's not. He's going to stay Thresh the entire time.

I will do the same. Those people in the Capitol will not change who I am. So if I am to die in those sadistic Games, I will die Rue Underbrush. And there's nothing anyone can do about it.

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><p><strong>AN: Ugh, I hate the Capitol for putting Rue in that arena. And for putting Mags in, and the morphlings, and Cecelia, and trying to put Annie back in… I could go on into a rant about how much I hate the Capitol, but I don't think any of you want to listen to that. Requests are open. **

**If you can guess why I chose the names Ariadne and Bacchus for her parents, you get a sneak peek to the next one-shot!**

**~MJ272**

**Oh, if any of you read my one of my other stories, My Love, My Fear, My Hope, My Dream, My Life, I have a poll up on my profile. Please vote!**


	9. Sugar Cubes

**A/N: This is actually a happier scene! Not happy, just happier. It's also shorter than most of my other one's just because the scene was short. Don't shoot me! Finnick's POV.**

**For my AMAZING Beta, Kelsey! Check her out at KelsNicole92, because she is an outstanding author, and if you haven't read her, you're missing out!**

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><p>Once again, I am waiting for the chariots to start the ceremonies of the Hunger Games. Only this time, I'm not going in with some random girl. I'm going in with Mags, my old friend. And I'm not trying to get myself out. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are the ones we have to save. And if I die before they can rescue us, so be it.<p>

Moving around in my costume is hell. I have a net draped over me, knotted at my groin. I suppose most women in the Capitol have already seen me naked, but still, I wish I was more covered.

I take a handful of sugar cubes from the horses tin. These always help to calm me down. Then I notice Katniss Everdeen, petting one of her horses necks. I wonder how she would react if I messed with her head a little… Oh well, there's not much time for fun left in my life anyway.

Eating a cube, I quickly walk over to her. She turns her head before I can say anything.

"Hello, Katniss," I say, using a voice that has worked on women for years. She is the first one that looks as me cautiously. Oh, this is going to be too much fun.

"Hello, Finnick," she says, in a voice that she keeps casual. She looks slightly uncomfortable with my outfit, and it's all I can do not to explode with laughter at the sight.

"Want a sugar cube?" I ask, holding my hand out to her. "They're supposed to be for the horses, but who cares? They've got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I…well if we see something sweet we better grab it quick," I say with a small wink. Katniss looks more uncomfortable than ever.

"No thanks," she says, not meeting my eyes. "I'd love to borrow your outfit sometime, though." Yes, now she's trying to joke with me. Oh no, I can't have any of that. I'm the one who gets to mess with her.

"You're absolutely terrifying in that getup. What happened to your pretty little girl dresses?" I ask, and then wet my upper lip with my tongue.

"I outgrew them," she says, fidgeting. Just to make her feel more awkward, I take the collar of her outfit and finger it.

"It's too bad about this Quell thing. You could've made out like a bandit in the Capitol. Jewels, money, anything you wanted," I say, revealing some things that I had to be paid with, when Snow first started my prostitution.

"I don't like jewels, and I already have more money than I need. What do you spend all yours on anyway Finnick?" she asks fiercely, becoming more accustomed to my presence.

I laugh lightly. "Oh, I haven't dealt in anything as common as money for years," I say. Once we're both being slightly normal, I realize that it's actually easy to talk to her. She's actually a pretty decent person.

"Then how do you pay for the pleasure of your company?" Katniss asks me. I feel as if I'm just talking to Johanna, a friend I have known for years.

"With secrets," I whisper. Then I remember why I came over here. I lean my head even closer to hers. "What about you, girl on fire? Do you have any secrets worth my time?"

I am rewarded with her blush. She refuses to look into my eyes again as she answers just as quietly. "No, I'm an open book. Everybody seems to know my secrets before I know them myself."

I smile, sincerely sorry for her. "Unfortunately, I think that's true." She has no idea that so many people are about to die for her, and that the district she had no idea existed is going to pick her up.

I see something move out of the corner of my eye, and acting on instinct I look at it head on. It's Peeta, Katniss' partner, the other one we have to get out. Katniss, the embodiment, Peeta, the voice. Both of them are crucial to the rebellion.

"Peeta is coming. Sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you," I say, then I eat another sugar cube as I walk off. When I'm a safe distance away, I look back, and she has a slightly bewildered look on her face.

I can't contain my laughter anymore. I almost fall over, and Johanna has to help me up. "What's made you so happy?" she asks in her sarcastic tone.

"Just, if you get the chance, make Katniss Everdeen feel awkward. It's the funniest thing," I gasp, clutching a stitch in my side. Johanna grins evilly and I know she has something far worse in mind, for Katniss, then what I just put her through.

My laughs immediately stop when a voice tells me to get onto the chariot. As I'm marched out, I remember why I'm here. Because of that sadistic man, who has prostituted me from the time I was sixteen.

I did not come here to make people feel awkward. I came here to protect those people and hope to live myself, to be of the best use to the resistance. Because no one should be put through what I have been put through.

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><p><strong>AN: OK, so here are the people I have requests from: 4 more for KelsNicole92 and 1 for SneverusSnapers! I'm only doing one a week now, what with four stories I'm working on right now, and finals coming up. During the summer, I should be updating more :D**

**If you requested something, and I didn't mention you, PLEASE just review or PM me again! I love doing these requests! I'm sorry, I'm even more disorganized than I usually am… Please forgive me!**

**~MJ272**


	10. Just Like Last Time

**A/N: I haven't updated on this one for a while, due to an unfortunate case of writers block But I'm back! This chapter is shorter because this scene is shorter. For my lovely Beta and good friend KelsNicole92. Johanna's POV.**

**~Mock **

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><p>Just like last year, the tributes from District 7 are dressed as trees. I was dressed as a tree in my first Hunger Games four years ago. Don't you think my stylist might have been able to come up with something just a little better? Of course not.<p>

And just like last year, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark shine in their suits of fire. At least, unlike last year, they don't wave or give anything to the crowd. None of us do. Rebelling in our own personal way, telling people that we don't approve of what the Capitol's making us do. But in a way I'm grateful.

We have been given a chance to rebel, to end the Hunger Games once and for all. All we need to do is survive a couple days, and the rebellion will begin. I can do that.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Quell was changed. Katniss and Peeta have been giving the Capitol too much trouble, and to kill them in their own district would cause uproar in the Capitol. No wedding for them.

So how perfect it would be, to kill them both off in the Hunger Games again! Plutarch says that Snow swears he did nothing to tamper with the Quell, but he did order a certain person to be alive at the end of the Games. And that person is not me.

It's Finnick. Finnick is to stay alive so Snow can keep prostituting his body, making money from him. When all Finnick wants to do is get married to Annie, live quietly together. Snow makes me sick.

The chariot ride is just like last year, with Katniss and Peeta getting the most airtime, the most attention. Whether this is a good thing or not, I'm not sure yet.

And when we get off our chariots, I'm willing to bet this is just like last year. Katniss and Peeta stick close together. Then something happens I'm sure is not just like last year.

Katniss and Peeta go up to talk to Chaff and Seeder, and after a couple minutes, Chaff kisses Katniss right on the lips. Katniss seems taken aback, at a complete loss for words. I watch them from afar, laughing my head off. That girl is so innocent!

Remembering what Finnick said about how fun it is to make her awkward, I make sure I follow them to an elevator. Unlike last time, my approach is not weak and powerless, but snarky and unlikable. For once, I get to be myself!

As I catch up to Katniss and Peeta, I throw off my headdress like I've been waiting to do for a while now. I throw it behind me, not bothering to see, or care where it lands. I roll my eyes and address the two "star-crossed lovers".

"My stylists the biggest idiot in the Capitol. Our tributes have been trees for forty years under her. Wish I'd gotten Cinna. You look fantastic," I say. I can tell Katniss doesn't know how to respond. Haymitch had said she's never been the girly type.

"Yeah, he's been helping me design my own clothing line. You should see what he can do with velvet," she says after a pause. Peeta watches on with some amusement.

"I have," I reply. "On your tour. That strapless number you wore in District 2? The deep blue one with the diamonds? So gorgeous I wanted to reach through the screen and tear it right off your back!" And with that, I take off the rest of my costume. Katniss looks more uncomfortable than ever. "That's better," I say.

While we go up the elevator, I talk to Peeta about his paintings, telling that I'm making Katniss more and more uncomfortable with every passing moment. When I get out on my floor, I burst out laughing. Finnick was right, it's fun to make her feel awkward! I bet nothing like that happened to her last year.

My good mood doesn't fade. These Hunger Games have been the same for years. The same thing over and over again. Everything is just like last year, and the year before, and the year before.

But this year is the last year. Plutarch has arranged our escape. Whether I'll make it out I don't know. My safety doesn't matter. I don't care about it myself. I really don't. I have no real reason to live. No one cares about me anymore.

Sure, a rebellion would be fun. And while I'm a good fighter, I'm not absolutely necessary like Finnick. I know that the President of Thirteen wants a lot of the victors, but I wouldn't be the faces of the rebellion, like Katniss and Peeta. I would just be there, a help, but not necessary.

So if I don't go to Thirteen, it's no big deal to them. I'll do what I have to. Because just like last time, I'm just a piece of people's games.

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><p><strong>AN: I have reviews lined up for SneverusSnapers, KelsNicole92, Anilem Atarih, and independantwriter-137. Requests are open, but please uderstand if I don't get to them right away. I have 8 to do (because you guys are amazing!)**

**~Mock**


	11. Leaving

**A/N: Here's another one-shot! Requested by SneverusSnapers, Mrs. Everdeen's POV. Oh, and Evene is pronounced like Evan. Just in case, right. Hope you like it!**

**~Mock**

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><p>I sit at home, making some stew with katniss tubers, especially for my daughter. A vase of primroses sit near the sink. Galan picked them for me last night. Even though my daughters are at school, with these reminders here, it's like they're always with me.<p>

The stew is almost done when the alarm goes off. The alarm that signifies there was a mine explosion.

Abandoning my stew, I fly out of the house and hurry to the mines. They have roped off the entrance, and are sending a team down to pick up any survivors.

_Galan has to be alive, _I think desperately. _He has to. He promised me he would always be there for me…_

The children at the school begin to file towards us. Katniss, leading Prim by the hand, quickly finds me. She can tell that no one's been let up yet.

In a couple minutes, the first round of people are lifted from the mines. These people are mortally injured. They are taken to the people who run the new apothecary. I know that I should be helping, but I can't. I can't until I know Galan is safe.

I'm still hanging onto the rope, and a white robed Peacekeeper places a hand on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry miss, but I have to ask you to step slightly away from the rope," he says in a voice that doesn't seem sorry at all. Nevertheless, I do as he asks.

The day goes on, and night starts to fall. They still don't bring up Galan. Someone puts a blanket around Katniss and Prim, and gives them something hot to drink. I refuse all forms of help.

They are still sending people down into the mines to bring them back up. I still have a chance. I still have a chance.

They start bringing up dead bodies along with the live ones. I don't see Galan among those either. I tell myself this is a good thing. Galan has a kind heart. He's probably just letting the other people go up first. Yes, that's something he would do.

Evene Mellark starts to go around handing out pieces of bread to the people who don't know their loved ones fate yet. Two of his sons are with him, including the one who's Katniss' age. I don't see his wife, Tania, anywhere. Something tells me she wouldn't approve of him helping us.

Evene's youngest son sees Katniss, sitting on the ground, blanket still around her shoulders, leaning towards the mines. Prim is leaning on her shoulder, on the verge of falling asleep.

The boy quickly grabs a piece of bread and starts hurrying over towards my daughter. Evene sees where he's headed, and quickly intervenes.

"Peeta, come on, we have to go home now," he says. He leads his son, Peeta, towards their home in the merchant section. Peeta looks back once, unhappily, at Katniss. Then another round of people come up, and I put Evene and his son out of my mind.

This round holds only dead men. Katniss gives a small sound of fear, but Galan's not with them either. I'm starting to lose hope as they go down one more time.

Night has fallen when the person in charge of my husband's section comes out of the mine. He says that he is very sorry, but they were unable to recover any more bodies.

It doesn't hit me right away. I stand there in shock, then it hits me.

Galan is dead. He's never coming back. He'll never be there to hold me again, bring me back presents when he comes back from the woods. He will never tell me he loves me again.

I give a dry sob, and feel myself slipping away. My body might be here, but Galan has taken my spirit down into the mines, where it has died with him.

I'm barely aware of Katniss leading Prim and I home until I'm sitting on my bed. Prim, rubbing her eyes, starts to polish Galan's shaving mirror like she does every night.

"Momma, when is Daddy going to come home?" she asks in a voice that seems far away. I want to answer, but my voice has abandoned me.

"Dad's not coming back Prim," Katniss whispers, trying to hold tears back. Quietly, she explains.

Prim starts to cry. She climbs up on my lap, wanting me to hold her. And I really want to. I really do.

My limbs don't want to move. They seem to have lost the ability, but after some work, I manage to hold Prim to me, cradling her in my arms. Katniss climbs up on my bed too, and together we cry.

After some hours, Prim cries herself to sleep. Katniss wipes her eyes, and carries Prim to their bed. She lays down next to Prim, and falls asleep instantly.

Sleep, while it comes to my daughters, alludes me, even though I try desperately to find it. It must be one in the morning when I hear a knock on the door.

Somehow, I manage to pick myself up and answer the door. Evene stands there, his hair windswept, and he is clearly out of breath.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, and as I suspected, my voice is barely audible, no doubt due to a combination of lack of use and crying.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss. Galan was a, a good man, and he didn't deserve to go the way he did," Evene says, words rushing out of his mouth. I'm stunned he came.

"Peeta, my son, he wanted me to tell you that he was sorry for you too," Evene continues.

We stand there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Evene has never been the most talkative man, and I'm at a loss for words.

"Well, um, I'll be going home now. I'm not sure, but I think Peeta saw me leave. I don't want him bringing it up in the morning," he says, and turns around, heading to his home.

"Evene!" I find myself yelling. He whips his head around. "Thank you," I say. A shadow of a smile flits across his face.

"Anytime," he says, and with that, he leaves.

I turn back to my house, and I feel more and more of myself slipping away with each step. I break down on the bed, unable to move, unable to do anything. I didn't know it, but those were the last words I would speak for a long time.

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><p><strong>AN: Poor Mrs. E! I want to thank my wonderful Beta, KelsNicole92, for Beta-ing this! I hope you feel better soon! If you have a request, PM or review, as always! Although reviews even without a request… I still sppreciate those :D**

**~Mock**


	12. The Blood of my Family

**A/N: Woot! Another oneshot! This was requested by the lovely KelsNicole92. Johanna's POV. I might not be able to update next week, because I'm volunteering at my church's Vacation Bible School, and on Friday, I'm going to my uncle's cabin, where there is no technology. I get to ride QUADS off the mountians instead!**

**This in un Beta-ed so any mistakes are my fault! I hope your mom feels better Kelsey!**

**~Mock**

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><p>My eyes quickly scan the arena, and for a moment all I can see is water. Leaning slightly towards the edge of the plate, I can see a small island, with the Cornucopia in the middle. Strips of land branch out, and I can see one on my left. To my right, I see Wiress, another strip of land past her.<p>

The gong sounds. I quickly jump into the water, grateful that I know how to swim a bit. I'm almost to my strip of land, when I see Finnick and Katniss. District 12. Got to protect District 12. They're too important for the rebellion to be left behind.

While Katniss is shooting at someone I can't see, Finnick holds up three fingers, and points to Beetee floating in the water. His attention is the captured by someone on the other side of the Cornucopia.

District 3. They know about the rebellion, and their knowledge of technology is vital for making sure the propos Plutarch was talking about are able to show in the Districts. They're vital, unlike me. I am simply disposable.

I grab Beetee, who's just managing to stay afloat. I don't even know how he accomplished that. As far as I know, he has no knowledge on how to swim.

"It's the belt," he says as I grab one of his arms. "They keep you up."

Really? That means I don't have to wear myself out trying to tread water while swimming. I instead head straight to Wiress, and sure enough, the belt does keep myself and Beetee above water.

"Jump!" Beetee shouts to Wiress. She glances at him, apparently decides to trust him, and jumps in. Her head dips beneath the surface for a moment, then comes back up.

We reach her quickly, then I hoist the pair of them up onto a strip of the land. Blight sees us from the Cornucopia, and he rushes over, helping me with Wiress.

"I can do it myself," I growl at him. Blight just sighs, and continues to try and "help" me.

We get Nuts and Volts up on the land. I turn my head around, away from the Cornucopia, and I see a jungle. That's where I immediately want to go.

I start to run to the jungle, but Beetee gives some sort of ecstatic cry, and I see him going towards the Cornucopia.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I yell after him, but it's too late. He's already halfway there. I have no choice but to follow him.

I'm a much faster runner than Volts, so I reach the Cornucopia just as he's picking out a small ball of thin wire.

"Are you done? Can we go back now?" I yell at him. He straightens up just as a knife hits his back.

As Beetee falls, I see the woman from District 10. Without thinking, I grab an axe from the mostly depleted pile of weapons, and I throw it into the woman's heart. She falls, and I run, dragging Volts with me.

When the four of us reach the jungle, a quick examination of Beetee shows that he's not dead, but not going to last a few days with that injury.

When the cannons go off, I hear eight shots. I wonder who died, but I know that no one up in the sky would really matter. The Capitol has already killed my mother and father, my Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Paris, and my cousins Marcus, Lillian, and Aria. They've already taken everyone from me. They can't hurt me anymore.

After some hours, lightning strikes a tall tree much too close to where I now sit. Blight has gone off to collect some nuts we saw earlier, and Beetee and Wiress are sleeping. Well, Wiress was sleeping until the bolt went off.

"Thirsty," she mutters.

"Yes, yes, we're all thirsty, and Blight's looking for water right now, so just wait a while!" I say harshly. This time, the games won't change who I am. I will be snarky, unliked, sarcastic Johanna Mason. Let's see the Capitol try to do anything about that.

As if the arena wants to help us (yeah right), it starts to rain near us. Blight comes hurrying back, and I shake Beetee awake.

"We're going into the rain," Blight explains calmly. Volts nods, gets up shakily, and we all run as fast as we can into the rain.

Soon, it becomes apparent this isn't rain. For one thing it's red. I open my mouth to yell at the others that we need to get the hell out of here, when the "rain" fills my mouth, and I know exactly what it is by the sharp, metallic taste.

The Gamemakers are raining down blood. The blood of my family…

I can hear Nuts, Volts, and Blight bumping into each other, trying to get away, but I can tell the blood is clouding their eyes, just as it's doing to mine. I get them cleared just long enough to see Blight run into seemingly empty air. There's a sharp zap, and as Blight is thrown backward, I realize he hit the force field. The cannon confirms there would be no way to help him, even if I cared.

Finally, I grab Nuts and Volts, forcing them to stay still, and wait for this rain to wear itself out, and over time it does. Beetee has passed out again, but Nuts is looking frantic.

"Tick tock, tick tock!" she keeps saying.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I growl at her. She then proceeds to sing some stupid song about a mouse running up a clock. It's taking all my willpower not to hit her down.

How long we sit here, I don't know. But after a while, I know I can't stand Nuts' "Tick tock-ing" anymore. I grab Volts, dragging him with me, and Nuts follows.

Somehow, we manage to find our way back to the beach. I make out some figures that I don't recognize, and I don't have the strengths or the weapons for a fight. But as we get closer, I distinguish Finnick, Katniss, and Peeta. They have some sort of ointment on, so their skin has a greenish tinge to it. Finnick looks up, and sees me.

"Johanna!" he shouts!

"Finnick!" I shout back. I drop Volts to the ground, and Nuts keeps yelling "Tick tock, tick tock!" I've finally had enough.

"Shut up!" I yell at her, pushing her to the ground. Katniss gives a reproachful glare, absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. Oh right. Peeta got her all knocked up.

I can tell from Katniss' glance that she doesn't trust me. After all I've been through, saving these two, partly because she wanted them. But she obviously thinks I'm unneeded. Just the like rebellion. I am wanted, by unneeded. After nearly drowning in the blood of my family, I will not sit by, letting these other people dictate what I do. I am Johanna Mason, and I can do whatever the hell I want!

And from that moment on, I decide to take charge of my own destiny. And despite where I am, for the first time in my life, I feel like Johanna Mason.

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><p><strong>AN: I hoped you like it! Requests are open, as always! Oh, and if you haven't voted on my poll, please do so. Thanks to those who have.**

**~Mock **


	13. AN Please Read

**A/N Please read!**

**I lost my thumbdrive this past week, with all the requests on it. I did my best to recover them all, but I might have missed some. Here's the list of the requests I have lined up. If you requested something and it's not on the list, PLEASE just PM or review, and I'll add it! Thank you for understanding!**

**~Mock**

When Katniss and Gale are saying good-bye-Gale's POV-independantwriter-137

When Peeta announces Katniss' pregnancy-Gale's POV-SneverusSnapers

When Finnick brings Peeta back to life-Finnick's POV-Anilem Atarih

When Prim and Rory are watching the Games-Prim's POV-Reni Readiris

When Cinna meets Katniss-Cinna's POV-Iluv every book out there

When Katniss is keeping watch over Peeta during the war-Peeta's POV-laughingismyhobbie

When Katniss pulls out the berries-President Snow's POV-SneverusSnapers

When Coin is shot-Coin's POV-SneverusSnapers

When Peeta first sees Katniss-Peeta's POV-KelsNicole92

Catching Fire reaping-Haymitch's POV-Haymitch's-minion-padfoot

Finnick and Annie's wedding-Finnick's POV-Haymitch's-minion-padfoot

Finnick's funeral-Annie's POV-Haymitch's-minion-padfoot


	14. Giving Her Hope

**A/N: Eesh. This was terrifying. This is for SneverusSnapers, and it was in Gale's POV. He's hard to write for! But I hope I did an OK job and that she's satisfied… 'Cause this was not pleasant.**

**~Mock**

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><p>When her name was called, I didn't know what to do with myself. Katniss and I fought to keep Prim and Rory safe this year, but she wasn't safe. Did we do something wrong? Did we miss something? No, more likely the Capitol just wanted to mess up families who already had too much to grieve over.<p>

And if hearing Prim's name being reaped was bad enough, seeing Katniss volunteer was a thousand times worse. I've experienced something no one should have to. At the reaping's, your own fear of being chosen is bad enough, but when you have to worry about your brother, the person you love, and her sister, it makes it so much harder. And the one I love wasn't spared. She was being sentenced to die.

But Katniss can't die. We've experienced so much out in the woods together, and she's fought through some extremely trying times. She told me that she was starving right after her father died, but she found the courage to hunt again. We never talked about that particular subject any deeper than that though. She liked to stay away from talking about it as much as possible, and I can't say that I blame her.

If Katniss can live through that, she can live through an arena. She just has to keep her head on and have a bit of luck. She can do this. She can come home to me.

I arrive at the Justice Building suddenly. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even know where I was. I only knew my destination. I have to remind Katniss that she can do this. And I have to tell her how I feel for her… Maybe she even feels the same way, and knowing how I feel might just be another driving force to bring her back.

Peacekeepers direct me to the chair I'm supposed to wait in to see Katniss. I glare at them even more than I normally would. I've never hated the Capitol more. Well, yes I have. The hatred I'm feeling for them now, when they take away my best friend, is the same hatred I felt when they took my father. For sending him down into those damned mines and just barely scratching a living for us.

I sit in the chairs, and the only other person I see is Madge Undersee. There are a couple other people at the end of the hall, friends of Peeta Mellark I suppose. They're all merchants, and the only one I recognize is Delly Cartwright. There was something in Katniss' eyes when they called Peeta. She had a slight pain in them, like she wished he hadn't been called. But the look had passed almost instantly, so I tell myself that I imagined it. I can't stand the thought of Katniss being connected to another boy. She should be with me.

The Mellark family comes out of the room and down the hall. I recognize one of them, Ryelee, who's in my year at school. Instead of making jokes like usual, he actually looks lost and even a little heartbroken. The look is matched on his other brother and his father's face. Only the mother seems unaffected at her youngest son going into hell. He's going to die to. He has to, because Katniss Everdeen is going to be the victor. If I keep telling myself that, I'll make it true.

Katniss' mother and Prim walk out of Katniss' room, and astonishingly, the baker walks in, a package in his hands. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim don't even notice me, shock still evident in their faces. I'll probably end up watching the Games with them, so I'll make sure that they'll have enough to eat and are faring decently. Rory wanted to finally use this time to really get to know Prim anyway. The kid's got a huge crush on her.

The baker doesn't take nearly as long as Katniss' family, but I still have to wait behind Madge. She has a determined look on her face as she walks in. I knew that Katniss and Madge were together a lot at school and were on civilized speaking terms, but I didn't know that their friendship ran this deep. I guess I just never paid attention before.

Finally, Madge walks out, and I notice her pin is gone. I hardly dwell on that though, because I can finally go see my Katniss.

She sits on the bed, on the brink of tears, but I know Katniss is strong enough to overcome them. I open my arms and she jumps straight into them, and I hold her close for a few moments. Sitting in the woods this morning, eating bread and joking around like always, it seems like a lifetime ago.

_You'll have more chances to do that with her, _a small part of my brain says. _She'll come back, remember?_

I gently let go of her and we sit on the bed. Here's my chance to remind her that she has a strong chance, that she is already a contender. These seconds are completely precious. I can't and I won't waste any of them.

"Listen, getting a knife should be pretty easy, but you've got to get your hands on a bow. That's you best chance," I say. She must already know this, but I tell her anyway. Who knows, maybe in the emotional wave she's gone through today, she forgot. I could be saving her life. I'd like to think I'm saving her life.

"They don't always have bows," she says. No. She can't be giving up already. She has to believe that she can win. She has to come home for me… for us.

"Then make one," I say fiercely. "Even a weak bow is better than no bow at all."

"I don't even know if there'll be wood," she says desperately, fighting to keep her voice at a normal tone. I'm not hearing this. Katniss isn't giving up. I was right to tell her all of this. She needed to hear it to remember that she can win the Games. I'll get through to her… somehow.

"There's almost always some wood," I remind her. The past few years, they've had at least a small bit of wood. "Since that year half of them died of the cold. Not much entertainment in that." She seems to be thinking all this over in her mind. I wait, hoping for the answer I so desperately need to hear from her.

"Yes, there's usually some," she agrees, and relief floods my veins. She's not giving up just yet. She's starting to see a bright horizon.

"Katniss, it's just hunting. You're the best hunter I know," I tell her, hopefully showing her even more that she has the power to win. Unfortunately, I think my words have the opposite effect.

"It's not just hunting," she says, some desperation creeping back into her tone. "They're armed. They think"

"So do you," I say quickly, trying to calm her down again. I suddenly notice, randomly, that the pin Madge was wearing is now fastened to Katniss' dress. I push the matter from my mind, impatient that the thought entered in the first place. "And you've had more practice. Real practice. You know how to kill," I continue.

"Not people," Katniss all but whispers.

"How different can it be, really?" I ask.

She opens her mouth for another response, but the Peacekeepers come back, saying my time with her is up. No! I haven't even gotten to tell her that I love her yet!

"Don't let them starve!" Katniss yells, desperation back in her voice. But it's a new kind of desperation. She hasn't given up. I've given her hope.

"I won't! You know I won't!" I yell back. The Peacekeepers start shoving me, so I've only got one shot at this. "Katniss, remember I-" and the door slams in my face.

Just two words. Did they really have to take two important words away from me? It takes all my self-control not to go back into that Justice Building and shoot every single one of those damned Peacekeepers for taking my chance to tell Katniss.

I slowly walk back home. I know I've given Katniss hope. So now, I just have to wait and watch. I have to watch my best friend, the girl I love, fight for her life. And I will be with her every step of the way, willing her to come back home.

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><p><strong>AN: OK, it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. It's definitely interesting getting into Gale's mind, I just have to work really hard at making him not sound like more of an idiotic turd face. He does that well enough on his own -.- **

**Well, I hope you like it anyhow! Requests are open.**

**~Mock**


	15. Searching For A Lie

**A/N: Another one-shot! I apologize for my absence, but I've been working my butt off with my original novel. But the first four chapter and the outline for the series is done, so I'm back to FanFiction, even though my updates won't be happening as often as they used to. My book's not going to get itself done! But I'm off topic. Here's another Gale POV! After this, I'll be done with him for a while. Can you tell he's not my favorite character? No disrespect intended for the people who like Gale.**

**~Mock**

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><p>I would give anything to be anywhere but here.<p>

It's time for the interviews, where last year, I got the biggest shock my life. Peeta Mellark told the whole nation he loved my Katniss, and she sat there and blushed like she loved him too. Then the whole time in the arena, all that kissing…

I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the memories. Katniss didn't love him, she proved that as soon as she got home. Of course, she was spending more time with him that usual, but it was probably just because of their staged engagement. And I suppose I could've been nicer to both of them. Well, to her at least. Bread Boy didn't deserve any of my kindness.

The seal of Panem plays, and the interview starts. Reporters flock around the square, talking to Prim and Ryelee Mellark. No doubt they'll soon want to talk to Katniss Everdeen's "cousin". Hopefully, by some miracle, I'll be able to stay inconspicuous until the end of the interviews, where I can slip back home quietly.

The interviews are different this year. My one glimpse of Katniss shows her in a white dress, but the female from District 1, Cashmere, soon takes the screen with Caesar Flickerman, looking as disgusting as ever. In her own way, she seems to be rebelling. She talks about how much she cries when she thinks of all the Capitol citizens who will have to lose her and her brother. She doesn't say anything about her own District, just the Capitol. A great number of people in the audience begin to play into her story, and her brother, Gloss, basically says the same thing. If this goes on, will even the people in the Capitol want a change in the Quell? One can only hope. And I do tend to see everything with a rebel's eye, which might skew what the tributes are really talking about.

District 2 says nothing concerning rebellion at all, but they just seem to be anxious about going back into the Games. The female from 3 can't speak right, but the male says that the Quell can't be legal with the victors. And that something should be done.

No one talks about rebellion or anger about the Quell after that until they reach Johanna Mason. She angrily says that no one anticipated the victors to be loved so much, and that it's horrid for such a bond between the people and the victors to be severed. But she seems to say that the Quell should be changed. District 11 comes right out and says it. They talk directly to Snow, saying that if he's all powerful, why can't he change the Games?

Finally, it's Katniss' turn once again. The people in the audience are sobbing, and ever some people here in the District are letting tears flow as they see our own victor take the stage, dressed in a large white dress. When Caesar gets the audience to stop begging for a change (why would you stop them?), he finally asks Katniss what she would like to say.

"Only that I'm so sorry you won't get to be at my wedding, but I'm glad you as least get to see me in my dress. Isn't it just… the most beautiful thing?" A white dress. A _wedding _dress. I should've known. They're sick to put her in that thing, just sick. When I get the gut to look up at the screen again, it takes all my will power not to scream, because she's covered in flames.

The people do nothing about it, nothing about their newest victor going up in flames. But the fire dies almost instantly, and the dress is now a black thing, with just a touch of white. She's a bird.

"A mockingjay," we say at the same time, even though there's no way she can hear me. She explains that it's the bird she wears, and I can hear everyone talking about her amazing stylist, Cinna. Even I have to say that he was good. Most likely he didn't want Katniss in the wedding dress, so he designed to have it burned away. Katniss didn't even seem to know about it.

She walks off the stage just a few moments after her transformation, then baker boy walks on. He seems to have his mind elsewhere, and I wonder what he's scheming. If he does something else that tears Katniss away from me, I'll kill him if he comes home.

"One minute, I'm seeing Katniss looking so beautiful in all these wedding dresses…" he's saying. Would I have rather them have a wedding, over this? I don't know. She might still come home, this way. Then I can have her…

"We're already married," Peeta says, forcing my unwilling head to snap back up to the screen. Katniss doesn't look shocked at all, but rather guilty, as if she knew people wouldn't approve… or as if she knew she was hurting people. No, it can't be true. Her and Peeta were becoming friendlier, but not enough that Katniss would marry before the official ceremony. That's not like her.

"Surely even a brief time is better than no time," Caesar is saying to Peeta. Peeta keeps this bitter look on his face. If I were really married to Katniss, I'd never have that look on my face… what's he getting towards?

"Maybe I'd think that too Caesar. If it weren't for the baby," he says, and he might as well have set a cannon off, for everyone in the District starts talking amongst themselves, and the people in the Capitol are screaming, calling for a change. Peeta goes back to his seat, and one by one, the victors unite hands, standing against the Capitol. They're all rebelling.

But I see something other than rebellion. Katniss and Peeta look at each other, glance briefly down at her stomach simultaneously, and then a look of understanding passes between them. Like they knew she's carrying a child and it's her responsibility to bring it home, but she doesn't want to without losing the father.

All this I glean from one glance that was barely a second long before the screen turns to static and the connection is lost. Katniss doesn't seem to be faking. Her emotions were genuine.

I start running towards my house, barreling into people, when I hear a dreaded voice. "Gale! Gale Hawthorne!" Biting back a swear, I see that the caller is a Capitol reporter. "Why don't you come back over here for some interviews?" he says nervously, trying to maintain a smile. Peeta's family, my family, and Katniss' family are all still standing in the square. Other people are talking to them.

"This is just horrible. Peeta's already like a brother to me, but Katniss is my sister and I love her so much. Their family is going to be ripped apart," Prim is saying.

"Well, if we get lucky and one of them comes home again, we either get a son who will be broken without his wife, or a daughter and hopefully a grandchild, if she can manage to keep it through the games and what would be serious depression if she came home," the baker is saying. Finally, the reporter asks me what I feel about this news.

"Katniss should be the one to come home because it'll be sparing more lives. Not that I don't like Peeta," I say, basically lying through my teeth, "but two is more than one. And I for one will make sure that her baby has everything it needs." After I answer, I'm able to get out.

I run as fast as I can for my house, and when I cross through the threshold, I slam my fist into the wall, leaving a good sized dent. I scream my frustrations about not knowing if what he said was a lie or not, ripping my hair out at the fact that Katniss didn't look like she didn't know. And she can't act that well!

So I resign myself to despair. She'll never look at me the same way again if she's carrying his child. I've lost her with this.

And I don't know if I'll be able to get her back this time.

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><p><strong>AN: This was actually kind of fun to write. I love this scene, and I tried not to get myself too absorbed into Gale's mind while still keeping him in character. Hopefully I did a good job! Requests are open, but if you do request, it might be a while before I can do yours. I have lots of requests to do and 5 stories in progress, plus my novel. I will never forget a request though! Next up in one for Anilem Atarih! **

**~Mock**


	16. Monster

**A/N: WOOT! Updates! I've had some serious writer's block on this one, so sorry for the delay in updating, and then there have been some problems FanFiction had to work out. But she you are! I loved this scene, and I just love Finnick! I hope you enjoy it as much I did.**

**~Mock**

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><p>Back in the arena, I thought I would feel myself falling even further apart. I thought that I would turn even more into the Capitol's sex pet, or as I liked to think of it, the monster they've created.<p>

Instead, I find myself doing this for a purpose. I am doing these Games to fuel a rebellion, so that Snow will be toppled off his throne and the people in the Districts can be free. I know my duty. We have to protect Peeta Mellark, and, more specifically, Katniss Everdeen, from harm so that when Plutarch comes to take us out, they will still be alive and fit for the rebellion. And I'm doing these Games for Annie.

If the rebellion is successful, she will never have to worry about me falling for a Capitol woman ever again. We would be married, we would start a life together, we would be happy. Mags, who I'm currently carrying, knows how much Annie means to me. She knows that this rebellion is vital for ending the Hunger Games and vital so Annie and I can have our life together. The only thing is that she's not expecting to make it out of the arena alive.

She volunteered for Annie, because she knew that if Annie went back into the Games, she would lose every bit of the sanity she still retained. Annie isn't really insane, she just bears more visible scars than the rest of us. Flashbacks were her price to pay for being the victor.

But Mags says that her time has come, and that she'll rest in peace knowing she helped Annie and I have the life she says we deserve. Still, I hope that Plutarch comes before Mags dies. She's been my constant rock in this whole mess ever since I became victor, and I don't know if I can go on living without her.

As I'm pondering all my thoughts, Katniss and Peeta have been diligently searching for water. Katniss sighs in frustration. "Maybe we'll have better luck on the other side. Find a spring or something." None of us can think of a better way to go, so we turn where Katniss had indicated.

But as we're walking, Katniss' eyes grow big and she opens her mouth to say something. I look back at her with a questioning look on my face, when I hear a sharp zap in front of me. I whip my head around just in time to see Peeta flying backwards straight into me.

The force if his body knocks Mags and I over, but Katniss is running straight towards Peeta. She calls his name several times and shakes him. No. I've seen this before in the District, where someone has been drowning and they haven't been able to breathe… But we need him for the rebellion!

Sure enough, when Katniss puts her ear to his chest, I can tell by the look on her face that there's no heartbeat. She starts bursting into tears and shouts Peeta's name again and again.

Mags touches me on the arm, startling me. She points to her mouth, opens it, then points to Peeta. Yes! Cardiopulmonary resuscitation! Everyone is District 4 learns how to perform it when we are young, but I haven't had to use it since before I won my Games, when I still worked on the boats.

However, I'm confident that I'll be able to do this right. I step over to Peeta's body, where Katniss is still frantically calling his name. I push her out of the way, saying, "Let me."

I pinch Peeta's nose together and start to pull his head back, the necessary procedure.

"NO!" Katniss shrieks, and hurls herself at me. She doesn't know, but she'll see the results. As it is, I can't afford to have her interfere now. Peeta can't afford it. So I hit her hard and she goes flying back the way she came, and quickly, I blow air into Peeta's lungs.

Katniss doesn't throw herself at me again as I work. I have to pump Peeta's heart and blow air several times before he finally coughs and I sit back, satisfied, and a little relieved. He was gone for such a long time…

Katniss looks hesitant as her weapons drop, and she doesn't seem to notice. "Peeta?" she says very shyly, and at this moment, it occurs to me that she isn't playing for the cameras, at least not all the way. In her face, I see signs that she really does love Peeta. Her features are impossible to misread, because they are reflections of how I look at Annie.

She throws herself at him and sobs, and they talk for a while. Somehow, Peeta ends up the one consoling her. Her tears are like gunshots in the otherwise silent jungle. And her emotions… Again, I'm astonished at how genuine they are. She cries in relief, and while I know the romance was staged, there's something that wasn't. I doubt she even knows it yet, but she has feelings for the boy in front of her. It would be difficult for the casual observer to discern these feelings, but I have a practiced eye. I've seen it all too often with Annie.

Katniss just sits there and cries, and Peeta looks at her with a worried expression. "Katniss?" he asks gently, but he gets no response.

"It's OK," I say, and, remembering the crowd, I add, "It's just her hormones. From the baby." Now, I know that parts not true. At least, I think it's not…

"No. It's not-" but Katniss can't get any more words out as she begins to cry against Peeta's chest. Could she really be pregnant? It doesn't make sense, seeing as Haymitch didn't say anything about it, and I would bet that he would have mentioned it so we would be extra careful around her so as not to disrupt her pregnancy. Still, what with all her emotions are crazy mood swings, she's really acting like she is pregnant. Haymitch did say she's not the best actress.

I shake my head a bit. No, she's not pregnant. But there's something brewing between these two, something not even they know about yet.

But it just strengthens my need to get us out. If we make it out, perhaps Katniss could sort out her feelings and realize that she does love Peeta. I can see it, anyone can. In the midst of the Games, with her mind clouded, it's no wonder she doesn't really know what she wants. Who am I to not help someone from reaching love? Love is the most wonderful thing a person can have. I know that from Annie.

So when Katniss finally calms down, and we start walking again, my promise to protect them is reinvigorated. They are good people, and they deserve happiness. I will do the best I can to help them reach that happiness. Then, and only then, would I have a chance to make up for what the Capitol has made me. I could change the monster.

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><p><strong>AN: That was amazing to do, and I love Finnick :) Aside from Peeta, he's my favorite character. This was something I wanted to do from his point, because I always wanted to expand his thoughts when he looking at Katniss and Peeta and shakes his head a bit! So much to work with! Anyway, requests are open, and reviews are always welcome!**

**~Mock**


	17. Revival

**A/N: Hey! Here's another update! Sorry I haven't done this in a while, but life tends to get rather busy when you're stuck in a love game (which was POINTLESS by the way!), and anxiously counting down until the Hunger Games movie! (Only 3 days and 34 minutes left, exactly.) However, now that everything has calmed down a bit, I give you this oneshot! It's for Reni Readiris, and I also want to wish her a happy birthday. From Prim's POV.**

**~Mock**

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><p>As Katniss starts placing the flowers around Rue's body, that's when I start to cry. Rue protected my sister, she helped Katniss get rid of the food, she helped with the tracker jacker stings, and even warned her about the tracker jackers themselves. She helped Katniss when I couldn't.<p>

Rue was such a good ally for Katniss, and when the boy from District 1, Marvel I think they said he name was, stabbed her, I had to look away. No one could fix that wound, not even my mother and I. Katniss had given up so much, and she cried too when Rue died and her cannon went off. Katniss shouldn't have to cry! Neither of them should have had to go into the Games!

In fact, no one at all should have gone into the Games. They shouldn't tear away people from their families. Katniss was torn away from me, and even though she promised me she would come back to me, I can see that Katniss will have scars that no healer will be able to fix. She's going to remember Rue for the rest of her life. Even I have already gotten nightmares from seeing Katniss fight so hard in that arena, and I can't count the number of times I cried when I thought she was going to die from the tracker jacker poisoning.

Finally, Katniss has placed all the flowers she wants around Rue's body, and then she surprises me. She puts three fingers of her left hand to her lips, and then holds them out. More tears spill from my eyes, and I wish for nothing more than Katniss to be home right now, where she could tell me everything was going to be alright, just like she had so many times in the past.

"Prim?" the voice says from the doorway. I look over my shoulder to find Rory standing by the door. No one else is in the house today; Mother and the rest of the Hawthorne's went out to the square today, but I wanted to be left alone. Blinking hard, I gesture for Rory to come inside. He sits down next to me on the small couch.

"How are you?" he asks first thing. I shrug slightly, and then let more tears fall as Rue's body, still covered in beautiful flowers, is lifted into the hovercraft.

"I just want her home," I say, my voice cracking. Rory nods.

"We all want her home," he says. "She was like a sister to me and I just want her to be alright. Although, I'm really glad that you weren't the one to go into the arena Prim," he says, the tone of his voice taking on a shy quality towards the end of his sentence.

"I wish I was in there instead of Katniss," I choke out, on the verge of wailing. "She shouldn't be there, that should be me. If she dies, it'll be my fault because she's doing this for me."

"No!" Rory yells. "It's bad enough Katniss is in there, but Prim, if it was you, I'd… I'd lose myself with worry. You're like, my best friend Prim. I couldn't stand the thought of you in that arena."

Blushing, I look away, my gaze landing on Buttercup who takes up the rest of the small couch. I grab him and put him on my lap, where he starts purring. Rory glances at the spot Buttercup was, and then hesitantly sits down next to me. And I let my tears that I've been holding in for days now fall freely from my face in a long, uncontrollable outburst.

Rory awkwardly tries to put his arm around me to comfort me. He's barely touched me when I lean into his shoulder, completely crying my eyes out. I cry for Katniss, I cry for Peeta, whose father has been helping us and giving us bread, I cry for Rue, the innocent girl who shouldn't have had to die, and I cry for everything everyone is going through in the games. No one can honestly be enjoying themselves, and as a healer, I can tell that they will all bear scars for the rest of their lives, however short those lives might be. I cry because my sister's not here to help me and protect me.

"It's alright Prim, it's gonna be alright," Rory murmurs as I continue crying. He pats my back right as a cough comes from the doorway. Slowly, I lift my head to find Gale in the frame, holding a rabbit.

Wiping my nose with a scrap of toilet paper (I've had to keep a roll in the living room for all the times Mother and I have cried these past few days) and go up to Gale. He gives me the rabbit, and I put it in a tub that my mother uses to cook the animals.

"Um, Prim, you're mother's going to be here soon," Gale says. "She didn't like the idea of you being here alone, considering what just happened to Rue and Katniss. And Rory, Mother wants you to help me bring Posy and Vick here so that we can all watch the rest of the Games for the day together. She just doesn't want anyone getting lost."

"Alright," Rory mutters from beside me. I glance at him from the corner of my eye to see that his face is beet red. He quickly gets up and shuffles out of the house at Gale's heels. He stops long enough to look back at me once, and only briefly.

It's not long before Rory, Gale, and the rest of the Hawthorne's return. My mother comes to hug me, but my eyes quickly find Rory, who's starting to sit on the floor. I meet his eye and motion for him to sit on the couch with me. Mother has gone up to cook the rabbit, so the spot next to me is available.

I've realized that Rory has been able to do the unthinkable. He's been able to comfort me in the middle of these awful games. He's given me hope again that Katniss will be able to come back to me. He's made me feel OK again.

Turning my attention back to the screen momentarily, they are featuring Katniss live again. She has just been sent bread, but it doesn't look like something you would find from the Capitol. Apparently I'm right, as Katniss gives the barest hint of a smile. She looks straight into the camera and says, "My thanks to the people of District 11."

Katniss has been given what I've been given. She was sent bread to revive her spirit, and Rory has revived mine so that I can continue to will that Katniss comes home. We have both been given hope.

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><p><strong>AN: First things first. I will not be taking any more requests. I've got 17 more left to do, and then I'm going to be done. I want to start another story (focused around the Inheritance Cycle if any of you have read that. If not, I suggest you pick it up, it's fantastic. You might better know it as the Eragon series), and with five stories currently in-progress PLUS an original novel PLUS all my schoolwork, I don't have the time to take on another story without dropping any of these. But, there will be 17 more updates before I close up shop! Please R&R, it would make me SO happy! Like, you don't even know.**

**~Mock**


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